MPs plan for community health centre in Ludlow takes a step forward
An MP's campaign to improve community hospitals in South Shropshire has taken a step forward with a government minister appearing to back a plan to create a community health centre in Ludlow.
Stuart Anderson, MP for South Shropshire, says he welcomes momentum for his campaign to attract better support for community hospitals in South Shropshire. It follows reports that local families are travelling more than 30 miles for appointments.
He launched his campaign last year in response to a government consultation on plans for the next decade of the NHS. He wrote to the Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP, calling for a meeting to discuss healthcare facilities in Ludlow.
This followed a visit earlier in the year to the Community Hospital on Gravel Hill, which he said "showed signs of significant deterioration."
Mr Anderson has endorsed proposals for a redevelopment at Ludlow Eco Park, which he said show promising signs of a solution to improve health provision in the area.
The Eco Park, owned by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (ShropComm), is one mile away from the current building and has great potential to become a local healthcare community hub for patients. At a Health Minister's Question Time, Mr Anderson told ministers that the plan could "transform local community healthcare in this rural town."
In May, Mr Anderson renewed his campaign on his return to Parliament after an extended absence due to two rounds of reconstructive surgery. In his first question, he said "community hospitals can reduce pressure on major hospitals" in rural areas.
Now, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP has appeared to endorse Stuart Anderson's campaign.
In an interview for the BBC on Tuesday, Mr Kinnock said: "I don't know why a community hospital isn't able to give them the care that they need. What I would say is that [the] community hospital could potentially be one of the new neighbourhood health centres. Some of the neighbourhood health centres will be new build, but a lot of them will be about repurposing assets that the NHS currently has, including, for example, community hospitals."
Stuart Anderson has now invited Stephen Kinnock to meet with him to discuss the Eco Park proposal in more detail.
The MP said: "I want to do all that I can to secure better investment in local health services. So, I am encouraged by the recent comments made by the Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP, setting out that Ludlow Community Hospital could become one of the new neighbourhood health centres.
"I have already raised this idea with Ministers and in Parliament on multiple occasions, following my earlier visit to the site which continues to show signs of significant deterioration.
"I renewed my campaign in response to the government's ten-year health strategy, which overlooked the potential of community hospitals to put care on people's doorsteps. I have now invited the Minister to meet with me to discuss the proposal in more person and renewed my call for more Community Diagnostic Hubs in South Shropshire to support earlier diagnoses of diseases."
